maureen, was it you or your husband? >> we both did because we were told ahead of time that the department of defense was going to be calling us. >> it turns out to be the president of the united states. >> yes. there was a voice that said, this is the white house and the president would like to speak to you. >> i grabbed the other phone right away. >> i could imagine that you did. >> can you tell us a little bit about that conversation? >> it was very brief. he said that he had to decided to award our son the medal of honor. >> it was a very brief conversation for about a minute. he was at a loss for words, too. he wanted to call to celebrate and congratulate and then after an awkward pause for a second, he had to add posthumously. he was very gracious and a brief phone call and after his phone call other people would follow up and work through the mechanics and that was about it. >> when i read about what your son did and the bravery, you know, i mentioned a little bit leading into you, but it's been called raw heroism